A Gloomy Beginning
The Sword Princess. Tana Erhen.
Unlike the other characters in Final Academy, her past was never revealed. Someone’s disciple, a prodigy with overwhelming talent, or a character with room to grow—most of the cast in this academy carried that kind of power and the narrative weight to match. But Tana was different. She had no such story attached to her at all.
She appeared out of nowhere, displayed skills no one had expected, and snatched the top spot. A true irregular. A supernova that had burst into existence without the slightest warning. That was Tana Erhen.
And that same supernova vanished after just one semester—killed by the final boss, the hand of a demon.
If that was all you knew, you’d never understand why she was one of the game’s heroines. She’d just look like a disposable character who existed only to take first place and then die for the sake of plot progression.
But Final Academy wasn’t that simple.
The more times you played through it, the clearer it became that Tana Erhen was anything but a throwaway character. Players who had accumulated experience across multiple runs naturally started trying different approaches. Relationships with certain heroines would sour or deepen, arguments would break out, and sometimes a heroine would become completely unromanceable. That kind of chaos was one of the game’s biggest appeals.
Yet there was exactly one exception.
No matter what route you took, Tana Erhen always stayed on the player’s side. Even when she lost to the player despite training until her hands were torn and calloused. Even when she became someone who could offer no help to their growth. She would still smile brightly and reach out her hand.
Just like right now.
“…Lee Sungjin.”
I forced my expression to stay neutral as I took the hand Tana offered. No matter how many times I replayed Final Academy and changed my approach, there was one thing that never changed—I always saved her.
The moment I grasped her hand, I could feel the proof of her effort through her skin. Her rough palm told me she had sacrificed sleep for relentless training.
“You got called by the dean too?”
“Yeah.”
“Any idea why? Calling both the top and runner-up freshman… sounds like it might be related to some kind of reward, right?”
I told the wide-eyed Tana that we would each get the chance to ask the dean one question. Her eyes rounded in surprise.
“You can ask the Sage anything you want?”
“Yep.”
“I had no idea. That’s a much better reward than I expected.”
Watching her act surprised, I swallowed the words you already knew that.
The fact that the top and runner-up freshmen could ask the dean a single question was already somewhat known among certain circles. Not everyone in the world knew it, but at least some of the people who had entered the academy would have heard about it. And Tana was definitely one of them.
She had taken the top spot specifically because she had something she wanted to ask the Sage. If she hadn’t known about the reward, she wouldn’t have bothered drawing so much attention by aiming for first place.
Still, the fact that she asked me anyway was just her way of striking up a natural conversation. Starting with a shared topic made it easier to continue talking and left a stronger first impression.
That aside, I also had something I wanted to say to her.
“The runner-up dorms already look this nice… I wonder how good the top freshman’s facilities are…”
“Tana.”
“Hm?”
“Are you that Erhen? From the pharmaceutical company?”
Her eyebrows twitched slightly at my question. But she quickly nodded as if it were no big deal.
“That’s right. Erhen Pharmaceuticals. Why? Do you need a favor or something?”
“No. Just… it seems like a tough spot to be in.”
I couldn’t go into too much detail. If I said anything more specific, she’d start digging for the source of my information. Besides, there were probably people listening in right now. This much was enough.
“What?”
Tana tilted her head, looking genuinely puzzled. This wasn’t just her remembering Lee Sungjin because he was the top freshman. It was personal curiosity—interest in the human being named Lee Sungjin.
“Well, I’ll be going now.”
“W-wait a second?”
Having planted that seed of curiosity, she would probably come find me again someday. I said what I needed to say and slowly left the dean’s office.
Just because you passed the entrance exam didn’t mean classes started right away. Since students moved into the dorms much faster than in regular schools—the academy sent everyone straight to the dorms the moment the exam ended—the school gave new students some time to adjust to academy life.
Of course, the staff gave a brief explanation when you moved in, but seeing was believing. No amount of talking could compare to experiencing it yourself. Especially the training facilities, which had a reputation for being exceptionally good.
Not only were they equipped with state-of-the-art exercise machines, but they also had training rooms where mana stones enriched the internal mana density several times over. To produce mana this pure and abundant, you needed mana stones harvested from high-ranking monsters. Knowing that those stones traded for astronomical sums made you truly appreciate the academy’s power.
“It really is nice in here.”
I steadied my breathing and stepped out of the mana training room. The refreshing mana dispersed in every direction, and the stale air tickled my nose. Considering how clean the academy’s air already was, it really drove home just how good the training room had been.
After leaving the training room, I looked around. Even though formal classes hadn’t started yet, the training facility was packed with people. There were a few upperclassmen scattered around, but the vast majority were freshmen.
Those who had done well on the exam trained to do even better. Those who hadn’t trained to catch up. The academy had given them this time to look around and rest a little, but most students ignored that intention completely.
They had seen their own abilities clearly reflected in the exam results. It had been a fair test under identical conditions and methods. Corruption was unthinkable. That meant the results were purely a measure of their own skill. Knowing that, the students poured everything into training.
Even if they were at the bottom now, entering the academy meant they had been geniuses who never felt inferior anywhere else. They couldn’t accept their current ranking, so they worked to climb higher.
Of course, not every student was like that.
“That guy’s really number one?”
“Honestly, it doesn’t make sense.”
“Did he get the test info in advance or something?”
Beyond the students sweating earnestly, a group was busy badmouthing me. They didn’t even try to hide their glares. Their lazy postures and crude way of spitting insults were exactly as I remembered from the game.
Looks like I hadn’t played Final Academy for nothing.
This was one of the sudden events that could trigger during the academy’s opening period—if you went to the training room before the semester started after taking first or second place in the entrance exam. Commonly known as starting a fight.
“He looks like he’d collapse after one punch.”
“That body took down an iron-horned bull? In under two minutes?”
“He must’ve paid someone off, right?”
They probably thought I couldn’t hear them, but…
Too bad I can hear every word.
My body was frail due to stat penalties, but my overall senses were far superior to a normal person’s. All thanks to the Heavenly Martial Body. If I focused, I could hear conversations at this distance as clearly as if the speakers were right next to me.
I forcibly held back the smirk trying to climb up my lips.
Just as planned.
I had known this event would trigger, which was exactly why I had come here on purpose. I could have avoided it entirely by not showing up at the training room, but…
That would just cause more headaches later.
It was always best to establish dominance early. If I let those punks run wild until the semester started, they’d become a constant nuisance. Instead of just talking behind my back, they’d start stealing my belongings or throwing things at me from blind spots.
Normally they wouldn’t dare. Who in their right mind would mess with the top freshman? The number one student of the semester wasn’t just a student—they were practically academy property. Considering the academy existed to nurture talent, this wasn’t something they could overlook.
The only reason these delinquents were acting so boldly was because they had powerful backing. Someone with enough influence that even touching the academy’s prized assets wouldn’t cause them any real trouble.
“Right, Ferdin?”
At the three punks’ glances, the blond man standing behind them gave a light nod. The faint smile on his lips was exactly like what I’d seen in the game.
Ferdin Artus. Son of a global tycoon and a talented awakener. His strength, built from pouring money into training since childhood, was not to be underestimated. But what made him truly terrifying was the power he wielded.
He was the kind of guy who would keep testing the player out of pure curiosity, not mere inferiority. Since some nobody had taken the top spot, he simply wanted to see what that person was capable of. He really was a sharp kid.
In the game, if he became an ally, he was more helpful than most characters.
But still.
“Seeing it in person really pisses me off.”
That handsome face, that perfect body, the natural talent, and the wealthy family on top of it all—looking at him filled me with inexplicable rage. That bastard was definitely living without a single flaw. This wasn’t inferiority. This was righteous anger.
“Hey!”
And I needed somewhere to vent that anger. Perfect timing—a sandbag was walking right toward me.
One of the punks muttered something at me, but I let it go in one ear and out the other. Then I spoke, raising my middle finger with one hand.
“Why are you running your mouth so much? If you don’t like me, just come at me.”
“W-what did you say?”
“Scared because you’re a pathetic piece of shit?”
“This bastard—!!”
A fist flew at me. Clearly, he had thrown the first punch. In that case—
“This is self-defense, right?”
I lightly dodged the slow-moving punch and drove my own fist straight into his face.
“Hoo!”
Damn, that felt good. This is what I live for.